The first game in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series, titled ''Paper Mario'' (but [[FanNickname called]] ''Paper Mario [[SuperTitle64Advance 64]]'' by fans [[TheOriginalSeries for the sake of differentiation]]), released for the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} in 2001.

The game starts when Mario and Luigi get an invitation from Princess Peach to attend a party at her castle. When Mario goes to have some alone time with Peach, the ground suddenly shakes and the castle suddenly rises into space with all of the guests still inside. It turns out that Bowser built his castle underneath Peach's and rose both of them up into space in a giant Koopa Clown Car. Bowser then appears and reveals he had stolen an artifact called the Star Rod from Star Haven, which he uses to effortlessly defeat Mario and throw him out the window to the world below.

Mario later wakes up in Goomba Village, where he receives a telepathic message from a star to go to Shooting Star Summit. Once there, the star, named Eldstar, tells Mario to find the seven star spirits, who have been kidnapped by Bowser's forces all over the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario then sets off, meeting a quirky cast of partners along the way.

----!!This game provides examples of:

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Toad Town Tunnels.* ActionCommands: Nearly every action has one. Commands range from "press A with good timing" to "hold the Control Stick for a certain time" to [[ButtonMashing "mash buttons"]].* AdultFear: The Yoshis of Lavalava Island go into a panicked frenzy when their children get lost in the dangerous jungle. A letter from Watt's mother implies her family suffered from this too after she went missing.* AffablyEvil: The minions of Bowser that are guarding Princess Peach are rather affable as they return Princess Peach to her room.* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Subverted in a big way with several races who would normally be nothing but EvilMinions to Bowser or some other BigBad. Most of them have a MonsterTown whose inhabitants live ordinary lives and have families, even pursuing real-life jobs (Kolorado, for example, is a Koopa archaeologist). Whether these people are the exception or the rule is not expanded on, but it's something. Even Mario's eight partners come from amongst these races. ** Particularly notable are the Shy Guys. They have a reputation amongst the Toads of Toad Town as pranksters, but apparently are otherwise on good terms with their neighbours. Some Toads even admit they didn't mind the Shy Guys' pranks before they escalated to theft and public menacing in Chapter 4. Yes, they work for Bowser, but it's not hard to imagine that they only started doing so under General Guy and forswore their allegiance to him after the general's defeat. Watt even goes to live with them after Bowser is defeated. And unlike the genuinely bad guys such as the Goomba King and the Koopa Bros., who live in giant ominous castles, they live in a toy box. A ''[[ToyTime toy box]]!''* AlwaysNight: Shooting Star Summit and Forever Forest. You can actually see the sky fade into darkness as you approach either area, and then back to daylight as you leave.* AnIcePerson: The Crystal King.* AntiGrinding: The game refuses to give you Star Points if you defeat enemies that are too weak. Additionally, grinding is a bit less useful than it is in other [=RPGs=]; Mario's attack stat only increases via story progression (and occasionally badges), not leveling up.* BadassAdorable:** Anti Guy fits this pretty well, seeing as he's harder to beat than most of the bosses, and yet he [[SayItWithHearts says everything with hearts.]] However, give him Lemon Candy and he'll soften up instantly on your first encounter.** All eight of Mario's partners qualify as well, having super cute designs and being capable of kicking butt alongside Mario.* BadassMustache: Mario and Luigi, who else?* BaitAndSwitchBoss: [[spoiler:The Koopa Bros.]] reappear at the very end of Bowser's Castle to fight you... before being [[CurbStompBattle curb stomped]] by [[spoiler:the ''actual'' RecurringBoss, Jr. Troopa]], causing the last Bowser Door to be perpetually confused.* BalconyEscape: Mario exits the second floor of the houses in certain towns to jump from one balcony to the next.* BigBad: Bowser, as usual.* BigBoosHaunt: Bow's Mansion, a literal example.* BigFancyCastle: Peach's Castle, also Bowser's Castle if you emphasize BIG and replace "fancy" with "Gothic".* BigNo: The Goomba King says this after Mario defeats him and blows up his fort, as well as the Crystal King. This is more justified in the Crystal King's case because Mario now has access to the final Star Spirit.* BlackoutBasement: Any place where you need to use Watt's ability, but especially the huge cave underneath Bowser's Castle, as all attacks are rendered useless unless Watt is out.* BlatantLies: When Buzzar asks who you are, you can claim to be Princess Peach. He immediately sees through it and concludes you must be Mario trying to pull a fast one. You can also avert the trope by admitting you're Mario, which also starts a fight, or claiming to be Luigi, which he finds plausible enough to accept and let you pass.* BonusBoss:** The Dojo Master, as well as the other disciples of the dojo. As you progress through the game, you can keep coming back for new dojo fights, each getting progressively harder until you reach the Master at his full strength.** In Chapter 2, Buzzar stops you on the last bridge of Mt. Rugged, saying that you look like the person on Bowser's WantedPoster, and asks your name. Answering [[spoiler:Mario or Princess Peach]] results in a fight. However, answering [[spoiler:Luigi]] will result in Buzzar letting you pass without a fight. You can return anytime and choose either of the other answers in order to trigger the battle, but be warned as you'll get less experience points for being a higher level.** In Chapter 4, the Anti Guy guards a chest with a powerful badge; you can either beat him or bribe him with his TrademarkFavoriteFood (it must be cooked, and although the ingredients are easy to obtain, ''[[GuideDangIt no recipe for]] [[spoiler:[[GuideDangIt Lemon Candy]]]] [[GuideDangIt is ever given]]''). He has no special abilities - just high HP and extremely high attack power.*** The Anti Guy appears again in the final chapter. In the second room where you run into a Bowser head door you take a seven question quiz, and getting 3 wrong answers before getting 5 right results in a brutal brawl with ''three'' Anti Guys at once. This fight isn't impossible, but it's hard to survive unless you have prepared for it in advance (meaning you've already anticipated the questions and answered wrong on purpose).** Kent C. Koopa appears in Pleasant Path after completing Chapter 5, blocking the path to Koopa Village and demanding a rather hefty toll of 100 coins for safe passage. You can pay him the money, beat him up, or take the quicker underground shortcut like you probably do. But if you choose to fight him, he does have a weakness: jump on him twice and he'll go over, making him susceptible to hammer attacks, which will strike his tail instead of his shell.* BookEnds: The prologue and epilogue involve the Mario Bros. being invited to a get-together at Peach's Castle. The only difference is that you're walking around in the castle in the prologue, and around town in the epilogue.* BossCorridor: A handful of the chapter bosses have some sort of straight corridor before their rooms. The first example is the battlement in the Koopa Bros. fortress where they fire Bullet Bills at you. The second is the underground hallways in Gusty Gulch, which is three hallways with Hyper Goombas in them that lead to Tubba Blubba's heart. There's also the rock walkway to the Lava Piranha and the cloud pathway to Huff N. Puff, and at the end of Bowser's Castle, you enter a hall with Peach supposedly waiting for you (she's a fake; it's four Duplighost enemies you need to kill to get past this room.) After this hall is the third and last Bowser head room in the castle, where [[spoiler:Mario has the final encounter with Jr. Troopa after he takes care of the Koopa Bros. for you.]] Finally, the upper halls of Peach's Castle, which are explorable in the game's prologue, lead to Bowser himself.* BossInMooksClothing: Anti Guy, an optional encounter in Shy Guy's Toybox; he's five times as strong as a normal Shy Guy and has ''over seven times the health''. If defeating him seems a little daunting, you could always bribe him. There's another potential encounter with the type in Bowser's Castle: failing the gates' quizzes will prompt them to summon units of ''three Anti Guys at once''.* BossRemix: Each Boss in the series uses a battle theme that is derived either from their personal {{Leitmotif}} or from their dungeon's music. Bowser's is mixed from the theme heard in Peach's castle just before the final fight.* BreakingTheFourthWall: Goombario. Sometimes he catches himself doing it and apologizes.* BuildLikeAnEgyptian: Dry Dry Ruins.* ButtMonkey:** Professor Kolorado. It's not apparent at first, but by the time Chapter 5 rolls around and he accompanies you to Lavalava Island, he's a walking slapstick comedy, getting minced by rolling spike Thwomps, falling 50 feet, and scorching himself in lava multiple times. Not to mention his wife who's usually annoyed that he's almost never at home and always doing expeditions, and eventually begins to send him letters demanding he return home immediately.** Fuzzipede counts as well, considering that he gets accidentally swallowed by a friendly whale while he was sleeping with his mouth open. In fact, Fuzzipede admits that he is this trope and regrets fighting Mario.* CallBack:** Quite a bit of the character sprites look like ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' and ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' Sprites.** Raphael the Raven, a boss from Yoshi's Island, appears as an oddly helpful character on Lavalava Island...where the Yoshi tribe lives. Furthermore, the boss of this same chapter, Lava Piranha, resembles the boss Naval Piranha from Yoshi's Island. And the background music for the Yoshi Village is the title screen music from Yoshi's Island.** The entirety of the Koopa Bros. Fortress is one to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3''. The music throughout the fortress is based on the fortress level theme, the airship theme plays during the part with the bullet bill blasters, the fake Bowser has Bowser's theme playing, and the Koopa Bros. themselves get a remix of the Hammer Bros. theme.** Those who have played ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' will likely recognize the train in Toad Town. It even plays a remixed version of Kalimari Desert!** The credits music for''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_32KA98keSU plays on a radio in Koopa Village.]]* CanonImmigrant: The Koopa Bros. first appeared in Super Mario-Kun issue #2. Several years before Paper Mario.* {{Cap}}: Level 27. [[AbsurdlyLowLevelCap You're likely to be around level 23 by the time you fight the final boss, and can gain those last few levels in a matter of minutes by fighting Amayzee Dayzees.]]* CerebusSyndrome: You'll quickly notice that this game is ''a lot'' lighter than the sequels are. Even then, Bowser's more of a threat than usual since he's managed to get his hands on the Star Rod, which he can use to make himself invincible.* ChainOfDeals: The letter quest, which had you shuttling all over the Mushroom Kingdom delivering everybody's mail. Although it's worth it for a badge that dramatically boosts your evasion stat. It's much simpler if you have unlocked [[HubLevel the pipes in the sewers]], but if you haven't, get ready for lots of walking.* CharacterDevelopment: Mostly regarding Twink and Peach.* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The entire penguin population of Shiver City, with the exception of Herringway, has a loose grip on reality and a really excitable nature. Mix this in with a serious penchant for gossip, and the slightest rumor can make them all go completely nuts.* CognizantLimbs: The Lava Piranha. Notably, the fifth bosses in the two sequels follow his trend.* CollectionSidequest: The Star Pieces, which return in the sequel as well.* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: For the most part:** Enemies tend to share their species with non-enemies in this game, so all enemy Koopa Troopas are red-orange while all friendly ones sans the Green Ninjakoopa are green. Bob-omb enemies are indigo in color, while friendly Bob-ombs come in blue, green, red, and pink.** Enemies are color-coded to show which abilities they have. The Magikoopas most notably come in 6 colors: red (can raise their comrades' attack), yellow (can electrify their comrades), green (can raise comrades' defense), gray (can make their comrades' invisible), white (can replenish their comrades' health), and blue (can perform any of the aforementioned assists).** Enemies are color-coded to show how strong they are. Regular Fuzzies are black, the more powerful Forest Fuzzies are green, and the most powerful Jungle Fuzzies are yellow. Dark Koopas are more powerful than regular Koopa Troopas and are purple, White Clubbas are more powerful than the regular green Clubbas, and the more powerful Monty Moles in Flower Fields are green while their weaker Mt. Rugged counterparts are brown.* CombinedEnergyAttack: Used in the end of the game, and gets a power up with Peach.* ContinuityNod: There are several that sometimes double with CallBack. This game inherits several features from its original predecessor ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'':** This game's very premise is a development of an idea introduced by Geno, who claims that Star Road was responsible for granting wishes. Shooting Star Summit is a location in both games.** Paper Mario's CreativeClosingCredits includes an all-cast parade, just like ''RPG''. Luigi even marshals both.** The Minister from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' also appears, though since the English version of that game called the Chancellor the reference is LostInTranslation.** In Luigi's first diary entry, he complains about not being able to go adventuring with Mario and that he prefers the peaceful times when they play [[VideoGame/MarioGolf golf]] and [[VideoGame/MarioTennis tennis]] and [[VideoGame/MarioParty have parties]].** Twink is an {{Expy}} of Geno, or, rather, Geno's true form; he's sent down from Star Haven and ends up being a big help to the heroes.** K64, the train that travels between Toad Town and Mt. Rugged, looks a lot like the train from Kalimari Desert in ''VideoGame/MarioKart64''. The music that plays during the train ride is a [[MusicalNod remix]] of the Kalimari Desert theme.** The first floor of Peach's Castle looks vaguely similar to its ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' incarnation, while Bow's mansion looks like and has the same rough layout as Big Boo's Haunt.** Before starting Chapter 5, Mario has to help a whale with digestive issues. When he succeeds, the whale suggests that people ought to call him VideoGame/DrMario.* ContinuityCavalcade: The end credits brings back nearly every character of importance, including bosses and other villains, for a big parade down a street near Toad Town. Where appropriate, characters good and bad will put on a show as they pass by the screen, such as Chanterelle's singing and a comedy routine between Tubba Blubba and his heart.* ConvectionSchmonvection: Mt. Lavalava. Reaches its logical conclusion when [[spoiler:Misstar flies Mario and Kolorado out of it when it begins to erupt, and Kolorado's head is ''just grazing'' the surface of the lava as it shoots towards them.]]* CosmeticAward: The Diploma for beating [[BonusBoss The Master]]. Other than just changing ''three'' conversations in the whole game, it's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.* CowardlyBoss: Tubba Blubba's heart, which runs away when it has less than 10 HP left.* CreditsMontage: Credits Parade, actually. * CriticalStatusBuff: There are a number of Badges that boost Mario's attack power, defense, or evasiveness when he has Danger levels of HP (5 points or less). "Peril Mario" is one SelfImposedChallenge that exploits this by combining as many of these badges as possible and keeping Mario at [[OneHitPointWonder 1 HP]] for as long as possible.* CurbStompBattle: Bowser against Mario in the opening, once he fires up the Star Rod.* DarkIsEvil: Big Lantern Ghost and Anti Guy(s). [[spoiler:Subverted with the Anti Guy in Shy Guy's Toy Box if Mario talks to him with Lemon Candy in his inventory.]]* DamnYouMuscleMemory:** The first Jump upgrade changes the timing of Mario's Jump action command, because it includes a GroundPound. The second Jump upgrade changes the timing of the action command [[ZigZaggingTrope back]], because it replaces the Ground Pound with a Spin Jump. This makes getting down the timing for [[SpamAttack Power Bounce]] tedious, to say the least.** Also, if you're coming into this game from its [[VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor sequel]], sometimes you will be prompted to [[NoSell Superguard]] at any given enemy attack opportunity even though knowing full well that such a feature doesn't exist in this game. The timing for jumping attacks is also slightly different, which will likely result in many a failed action command until you get used to it.** You may be tempted to try doing Action Commands in general before you get the item that gives you the ability.* DeathOfAThousandCuts: Lady Bow (succeeded by the Yoshi Kid in the second game) specializes in doing a lot of damage in a flurry of attacks that do one damage each. Because of this, she can't do any damage to monsters with defense. She gets an upgraded attack later that deals two damage per hit for a grand total of ''ten'' - higher damage than any of your other partners can pull off in a turn.* DefeatMeansFriendship:** Lakilester. After you beat him, he asks what you're fighting for. No matter what answer you give, [[JiveTurkey he digs it]] and decides to join you.** Also, the Red and Blue Goomba Bros. They ask to be Goombario's friend through a letter.* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Dry Dry Desert, Dry Dry Outpost, and Dry Dry Ruins. Apparently, one "dry" doesn't get the point across. This is mainly a CallBack to ''VideoGame/SuperMario64.''* DetectiveDrama: The penguin murder mystery in Chapter 7.* {{Determinator}}: Jr. Troopa traverses through a mazelike forest, swims across the ocean twice, travels to barren icy lands and [[spoiler:''follows you into space'']] to fight you. [[FelonyMisdemeanor Just because you stepped foot in his playground once.]]* DevelopersForesight:** Monstar is immune to the powers of the Star Spirits and the Shooting Star item. [[spoiler:He's actually an amalgamation of Star Kids]].** One of your party members is recruited when you break open a lantern she is being held hostage inside. Most players just whack the lantern with the hammer but if you break the lantern by blowing it up with Bombette she complains that it wasn't necessary to use that much force.** To meet Moustafa in Dry Dry Outpost, you have to buy a Dried Shroom and Dusty Hammer in the shop. You're supposed to learn this by giving a Lemon to Sheek, but if you buy the items beforehand, the shopkeeper lampshades how "lucky" you are to have stumbled into the correct solution.** Similarly, the Boo painting in the mansion has unique dialog if you bring him the relevant quest item without having spoken to him. ** In the scene following the Fuzzipede battle, your partner mentions remembering Twink saying where the next Star Spirit is. Since the battle takes place in darkness, you normally can't damage Fuzzipede without having Watt out, but if you wear the Zap Tap badge or use a Volt Shroom at the right time, you can end the battle with a different partner out, and all of the partners actually have unique dialogue for this scene.* DisadvantageousDisintegration: Bow's Spook, Parakarry's Air Lift and the last Star Spirit power, Up & Away, have a chance of removing enemies from the battlefield, though you don't get Star Points for anyone removed.* DistressedDamsel: Played with. While Peach is being held captive, some sections have you take control of her as she sneaks around in the villain's lair trying to find information for Mario.* DiscOneNuke: If you try hard enough to scavenge the world for [[GottaCatchEmAll Star Pieces]], you can buy such things as the Power Plus badge early on in the game. Once you get the Super Boots, you've got Ultra Boots' attack power a few chapters early. On that note, a subtler example in that you can go and get the Ultra Boots as soon as Lakilester joins you and use them against Huff N. Puff.** The Star Storm power edges pretty close to this; you get it at the beginning of the fourth chapter in a game with eight total, and it deals 7 unblockable damage to all enemies on the field (in comparison, your regular attacks will never do more than 6 damage without any power-boosting badges). It costs two units of Star Power, which makes it just a bit too [[AwesomeButImpractical costly]], but it still shreds through {{Mooks}} for most of the game.** You acquire the Power Bounce badge in the Koopa Fortress, which can strike any given (non-ceiling, non spiked, non-burning, although exceptions can be made to those last two) enemy a maximum of ''101 times''. If your timing is good enough, this badge can be almost game-breaking.** Not really disk one, but if you [[LevelGrinding grind for experience with the Amazy Dayzee in Flower Fields]] (a good way to do this is to use the Mega Rush, Power Rush, and Power Bounce badges, then start the battle with Mario in peril, be sure to use the Bump Attack badge to avoid falling victim to other mooks) to quickly reach Level 27 and then use the Bump Attack badge, you can walk through the last two chapters of the game without ever fighting a non-boss enemy. Or having any reason to.* DoNotCallMePaul: Spike does not approve of being called [[EmbarrassingFirstName Lakilester]].* TheDogBitesBack: Tutankoopa's pet Chain Chomp, Chompy, turns on him when Mario defeats him in battle, probably because Tutankoopa would repeatedly summon Chompy to battle after Mario defeated it without letting it rest. Chompy is even seen chasing its master at the end of the game.* TheDragon: Kammy Koopa. [[TheUnfought Too bad you don't have a real fight with her until the sequel.]]* DressingAsTheEnemy: Peach gets an umbrella that lets her take the form of others as a game show prize from a Koopatrol. She uses this to her advantage, although she doesn't find much out [[spoiler:aside from Kammy apparently working on something special for Mario]].* DropTheHammer: Several enemies use hammers, but the Hammer Bros. do it best. Mario also uses a hammer for one of his basic attacks, the other being the classic Goomba Stomp.* EarlyBirdCameo:** You can fight an enemy, Bzzap!, in Chapter 3. It isn't formally introduced to you until Chapter 6.** Fighting a Koopatrol and Hammer Bro. in Shy Guy's Toy Box is also possible, and doing so nets you some decent experience.* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Partners don't have HP or their own badges, instead being knocked out for a certain amount of turns when damaged.* EasterEgg: In one room in Boo's Mansion, you can transform Mario into his 8-bit form, complete with the classic tune.* EggshellClothing: Jr. Troopa, who uses it as a defense mechanism occasionally.* EleventhHourSuperPower: Even the Star Beam gets cancelled out by Bowser's final-stage buff. [[spoiler:[[DeusExMachina Cue the Peach Beam, which can cancel Bowser's stage buff.]]]]* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Used to a relatively small degree. Ice and water attacks do extra damage to fire enemies, and fire attacks the same for ice and bony enemies. But there are only a handful of elemental enemies and even fewer elemental attacks, and these enemies are almost completely contained to a single chapter each (fire in Chapter Five, ice in Chapter Seven, bony in Chapter Eight). Instead, there's a larger emphasis on TacticalRockPaperScissors (see example below).* EliteMooks: The Koopatrols, the strongest normal enemies in the game.* EncounterRepellant: The Bump Attack and First Attack badges allow you to skip combat with enemies who are too weak to give you Star Points, defeating them on the overworld. Once you hit the level cap, enemies no longer award any Star Points, so you're free to ignore everything save for boss battles.* EnemyScan: The Tattle ability reveals enemy stats and a unique description, and also displays an HP bar for each instance of that enemy you encounter from then on. The Peekaboo badge will let you see enemy HP all the time if you are too lazy to Tattle every baddie you come across.* ExactEavesDropping: This happens several times per game, and all of them are done by Peach.* ExitPursuedByABear: Happens to Tutankoopa with his Chomps after defeating him.* {{Expy}}: New variations on old enemy families appear.** One example is the Clubba family, a variation on the ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' Spike enemies. (In Japan, Spikes are known as ''Gabon'', and Clubbas are known as ''Gabon Hei'', where "Hei" means "Soldier").** The Koopatrol is both an even more heavily armored reinterpretation of the Spiked Koopa Troopa from ''VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3'' and a spikier variation of the Terrapin enemy from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG''.* FakeWeakness: You can have Peach tell Bowser that Mario is vulnerable to healing items; Kammy will then scatter them throughout the next game area. He will believe that Mario hates mushrooms after decades of rivalry. Gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Kammy when she wonders if the healing items and power ups are really things Mario fears after she conjures them up.* FantasyCounterpartCulture: The Dryites and Nomadimice are quite obviously based on Middle Eastern/North African cultures.* FauxAffablyEvil: [[FourEyesZeroSoul Kent C.]] [[BonusBoss Koopa]] acts cheerful when collecting toll fees of ''100 coins'' from those who want to go through Pleasant Path. He becomes [[AffablyEvil sincere]] if Mario chooses to fight him, though, even warning him that's he's very, very, very strong.* FinalBossPreview: The very first fight in the game is in Peach's Castle against Bowser. The second-to-last battle is a rematch in the exact same place.* FourEyesZeroSoul: Kammy Koopa and Kent C. Koopa.* [[FourTemperamentEnsemble Five Temperament Ensemble]]: Mario and his partners: Mario himself (melancholic), Goombario (sanguine/phlegmatic), Kooper (sanguine), Bombette (choleric/sanguine), Parakarry (phlegmatic/melancholic), Bow (choleric), Watt (leukine), Sushie (melancholic), Lakilester (phlegmatic).* FlunkyBoss: King Goomba, Tutankoopa, General Guy, the Lava Piranha, Huff n' Puff and the Crystal King.* {{Foreshadowing}}: Luigi mentions in his diary that [[VideoGame/LuigisMansion he really hates ghosts]].* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: At the end of Chapter 5, Jr. Troopa finally catches up to you... only when you leave the island. When he fights you back at the pier, Jr. Troopa's health is significantly dropped due to swimming across the ocean. Twice.* GetARoom: In Toad Town there's a pair of Toad lovers who, if talked to, can be overheard talking about their love for each other (as well as other current events). Goombario states in his tattle that he's not a fan of public displays of affection and wishes they'd stop. * GettingCrapPastTheRadar: During one side quest, you have to return a video tape for Koopa Koot. After you return it, he says something along the lines of "You're probably wondering what was on that tape... I'm afraid I can't tell you at this moment." He then adds "It was great though!" This sort of sidequest is repeated in the next two games.* GiantMook: Each Blooper fought in the Toad Town Tunnels is bigger than the last, with the final Blooper (technically a Blooper Nanny) being extremely large.* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The Blooper, Electro Blooper, and Super Blooper, who all appear out of nowhere screaming "BLOOPER!" in huge text while you're exploring the sewers below Toad Town. Although, by the time you see the Super Blooper, the shock has all but worn off.* GlassCannon:** The Bzzap! enemy. It does damage comparable to that dealt by late-game ''bosses,'' but it has less HP than some {{mooks}} in the ''very first dungeon.'' You can encounter a group of them much earlier than you're supposed to, earning you [[PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling tons of experience.]]** [[spoiler:Tubba Blubba after reuniting with his heart also applies. He deals a fairly high amount of damage for an early boss, but only has ''10 HP'', meaning two attacks from Mario and his partner will finish him.]]* GoldfishPoopGang: Jr. Troopa.* GoodFeelsGood: After helping Mario destroy the Puff Puff Machine in Flower Fields, Lakilester realizes this and accompanies Mario for the rest of the game.* GoombaStomp: One of Mario's main attacks, the other being his [[DropTheHammer hammer]]. Ironically, only Goombario, who is a Goomba himself, has a similar jump attack.* GravityIsAHarshMistress: In the prologue.* GreenHillZone: The Prologue area and Pleasant Path give off this vibe.* GroundPound: Usable once you find the Super Boots to break open boxes and loose floorboards in the environment.* GuideDangIt: Some puzzles, recipes, and other optional things. Also, no one ever tells you that the Star Beam can cancel out every positive status effect on enemies. Most people end up never using it until the very end.* HeelFaceTurn: Lakilester, after helping Mario free Flower Fields from the baddies' cloud-spewing machine.* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: Twink will give you a tutorial about performing the Action Command after giving you the necessary item.* HeroicMime: Mario does not talk at all, though his partners and everyone else do. Later games have him speak though not through speech bubbles.* HiveMind: Huff N. Puff. When damaged, he splits off into several Tuff Puffs which have their own sentience. They refer to Huff himself as Master, despite being smaller parts of him. So it seems Huff is made of roughly 80 individual Tuff Puffs that you knock off and then kill as the battle goes on. As they're knocked off, they are separated from the central mind and become independent (but still loyal) once more.* HonestJohnsDealership: Chet Rippo and Rip Cheato are both shady characters out to sell Mario something. Subverted in that their services are actually somewhat helpful: Chet lets Mario re-arrange his stats, and Rip can sell Mario some good items, a couple Star Pieces, and a ''very'' good Badge (though he eventually runs out of good stuff and sells nothing but [[JokeItem Dried Shrooms]] afterwards).* HopelessBossFight: Bowser at the beginning of the game, and Tubba Blubba before you discover the secret of his invincibility.* HubCity: Toad Town.* HumongousMecha: "Bowser?" in chapter 1, a replica of Bowser that has 10 HP and 1 attack.* HypercompetentSidekick: [[TheDragon Kammy Koopa]] proves to be this, investigating leads about Mario's progress throughout the game, and hindering him however she can. This comes to a head when [[spoiler:she anticipates the possibility of Mario rescuing all seven Star Spirits, and ''prepares for it.'']] The only reason Mario comes out okay is because of a DeusExMachina.* HypocrisyNod: During the course of the game, there's a news bulletin in Toad Town that has different news articles on the front Mario can read and underground gossip on the back. One time, the back reads, "Both people who read and write these messages must have nothing to do but gossip. Of course, I'm one of 'em."* IcePalace: The Crystal Palace.* IdiosyncraticComboLevels: Nice, Good, and Super.* IdleAnimation: The characters fall asleep if you don't move them for too long.* ImplacableMan: Jr. Troopa just WON'T STOP, even after the final encounter.* IncestSubtext: [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar Believe it]]. In the Japanese version, one of Quizmo's questions is ''What best describes the relationship between Mario and Luigi?'' One of the answer options is [[HoYay "Lovers"]]. It's HilariousInHindsight after that incident where the Spanish press got duped by that one joke article from ''Ciencia Seminal'' "revealing" this to be true.* InconsistentDub: Watt is referred to as both a "he" ''and'' a "she," depending on where the text is. [[WordOfGod Officially]], she's female.* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: Merlon and his family. A character in the second game tells you that they are from a special tribe that names their members based on their profession.* InfernalRetaliation: [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle After you seemingly defeat Lava Piranha]], he comes back in a second phase where his attack is increased and he's on fire, preventing physical attacks.* InvincibleVillain:** The main plot point of Chapter 3 is that Tubba Blubba is invincible, meaning that Mario won't be able to defeat him. However, Mario realizes that he has a weakness and sets out to discover it. Ultimately, he succeeds in making Tubba Blubba vincible so that he can defeat him.** Bowser also has the ability to make himself invincible as well. The first time he does this, it allows him to defeat Mario easily. However, the second time they battle near the end of the game, Mario has access to the Star Beam, allowing him to remove this invincibility and stand a fighting chance.* InvisibleAnatomy: Several instances, but Goombario and his family are the biggest offenders.* InvisibleSubtleDifference: When examining Peach's dress in the Chapter 1 interlude, she insists that they're all different. To both Twink and the player, they're identical.* ItemCrafting: Cooking, which initially improves one item, [[spoiler:but after finding Tayce T.'s cookbook, she can combine two items for a greater effect.]]* JungleJapes: Lavalava Island.* JustAddWater: Cooking.* JustEatHim: Tubba Blubba terrorizes the Boos by turning them into snacks. The Yoshi Kids also eat Huff n Puff at the end.* KillerRabbit: The Anti Guys, and [[MetalSlime Amazy Dayzees]] if they choose to attack.* KingMook:** Tubba Blubba is a much larger, invincible variation of the Clubba enemies. However, Tubba is also a small subversion in that [[spoiler:in his normal state he's really vastly weaker than the average Clubba and something of a crybaby to boot; his incredible powers came from the fact that Bowser used stolen wish magic to separate and hide Tubba's heart, which rendered Tubba's body as an invulnerable puppet. Tubba's heart is the true boss fight, as normal Tubba has only 10 HP]].** King Goomba is about as straight as it gets; Bowser enhanced him with the power of the Star Rod and left him to govern the lands west of the Mushroom Kingdom. Unlike Tubba, [[spoiler:he retains his enhanced powers]], though he shows up in [[VideoGame/SuperMario64 other games]] using the moniker "Goomboss".** This is technically all over the place in the Paper Mario series, as most bosses can generally be considered the strongest members of their species; many of these bosses are actually variations of the trope, mainly as though the developers said "Well, we've already got a King Mook, what else can we come up with?"*** The Koopa Bros are a selection of four Koopa Troopas [[ShoutOut mixed with]] the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles.*** Tutankoopa is a koopa with a running motif of Pop Ancient Egyptology.*** General Guy is a Shy Guy with, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well]], military stylings.*** Lava Pirahna is a [[{{Expy}} gigantic]] [[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Pirahna Plant]] with [[RecycledInSpace fire powers]]. Especially [[AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance during round two]].*** Huff N. Puff is a giant Ruff Puff, and, when damaged, breaks up into a a smattering of tiny "[[FlunkyBoss Tuff Puffs]]", which can attack or be reabsorbed to heal Huff... unless Mario and company can destroy them first.*** The Crystal King is a subversion, being unique among Bowser's minions.*** Jr. Troopa technically counts, though he's a miniboss example; by the end of the game he has powers that far outshine the average koopa.* LargeHam: A good portion of the series' humor revolves around just how over the top some of the characters speak and act, especially the villains.** Bowser gets the most of this, as he and his minions make him seem more terrifying than he really is.* {{Leitmotif}}: Several bosses have distinct theme music, most notably, the Koopa Bros.** As do areas that are related to each other. Such as Dry Dry Desert and Dry Dry Ruins, and Mt. Rugged and Dry Dry Outpost.* LemonyNarrator: "Who stuck that weird thing into the story?" (referring to the picture of Kammy taped into the picture of the Star Spirits in the intro.)--> '''Bowser:''' Oh, that's right. I did!* LethalLavaLand: Mt. Lavalava, and parts of Bowser's Castle.* LevelUpFillUp: HP, FP, and Star Power are fully recovered when you gain a level.* LimitBreak: Mario's "Special Moves" are powered by limit break points [[CallAHitPointASmeerp called "Star Power"]]. Mario gets eight of these special moves over the course of the first game and each uses a different amount of Star Power.* LimitedWardrobe: Lampshaded. Twink sees Peach's dresses are all the same, and she is adamant that they are different.* LongSpeechTeaTime: It's a RunningGag in the series to make Mario fall asleep during a long, dull story.* LostForever:** There are three badges (As well as a Jammin' Jelly and a Shooting Star) that can be found during Peach's between-chapter interludes, or by Mario himself at the end of the game. If Peach picks them up but fails to deliver them to Mario by the end of the interlude between Chapters 6 and 7, they'll remain in Peach's inventory and can never be obtained by Mario.** In the Japanese version, it was possible to be unable to get full completion of the recipes because there was a limited number of Ultra Shrooms in the game. The Gold Li'l Oinks who drop Ultra Shrooms in the international versions dropped Jelly Shrooms--a technically better item, but one that can't be used in cooking.* TheLostWoods: Forever Forest. Complete with warping to the beginning after taking a wrong path.* LovelyAssistant: Parodied with Chuck Quizmo's assistant, a Toad named [[PunnyName Van]][[Series/WheelOfFortune na]] [[ShoutOut T]].* TheMagnificent: Bowser gets several titles.* MetalSlime: Amazy Dayzees, which could qualify as BossesInMookClothing if they ever bothered to stay and fight. When they do stay to attack, they can cause a whopping 20 HP damaging attack which also can put you to sleep.* MiniGame: The Jump Attack and Hammer Attack games in the Playroom are the straightest examples. * MirrorRoutine:** Done by Duplighosts in the Crystal Palace.** Subverted in that they do it horribly at one point. When Kooper comes back with four of them, they're disguised as Kolorado, Goompa, Luigi, and Koopa Koot. Kooper gets really mad if you pick the wrong one on purpose.* MonsterAllies: All of Mario's partners are members of the various enemy races he fights in his other games -- to wit, a [[TheGoomba Goomba]], a [[TurtlePower Koopa]], a [[ActionBomb Bob-omb]], a [[WingedHumanoid Paratroopa]], a [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Boo]], a [[ShockAndAwe Li'l Sparky]], a [[FishPeople Cheep-Cheep]] and a [[AirborneMook Lakitu]]. Some non-playable members of these races are friendly and helpful to Mario as well. * MonsterIsAMommy: The Super Blooper in Toad Town Tunnels can produce Blooper Babies.* MonsterMunch: Stanley and his brethren in Chapter 3. Bow explains they loved scaring Tubba so they kind of deserved it, but it's what they do best.* MonsterTown: Found all over the games populated by members of enemy races that are friendly to Mario.** Noticeably, enemy Koopas are always red in the overworld and purple in Toad Town Sewers, and wear CoolShades. Friendly Koopas are green and don't have shades.** Friendly Goombas are light brown, and enemies are pale, green, and blue.* MookBouncer: The UFO creatures in Tubba Blubba's mansion.* MookHorrorShow: When Mario storms Bowser's Castle late in the game, he encounters a group of Koopatrols, who upon seeing him begin to completely freak out and pathetically forget their orders (until a Magikoopa tells them to snap out of it). Even when they approach to fight, they really need to suck up their courage.* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Nearly all of Mario's companions are heroic individuals of the various enemy types. Other friendly versions of the enemies also appear, implying that not all of them work for Bowser.* NephariousPharaoh: Tutankoopa is the boss of Dry Dry Ruins and keeper of one of the kidnapped Star Spirits. He attempts to frighten Mario away from the ruins, even calling himself the "remorseless king of the desert" in his first warning.* {{Nephewism}}: Subverted with Merlon. Merluvlee, Merlow, and Merlee are all his grandchildren with no mention of their parents, but eventually a parent is mentioned and even met in person: Merle, Merlon's son.* NeverSayDie: Blatantly averted in Chapter 7, which contains liberal usages of words like dead, death, kill, killer, murder, etc... [[spoiler:Though the character in question turns out to be alive anyways.]]* NighInvulnerability: Bowser while using the Star Rod.* NPCRoadblock: The Koopa Bros. disguise themselves as Toads and keep you from moving to Koopa Village in Chapter 1 (Merlin will bust their scheme after you talk to him), and the penguins in Shiver City will prevent you from leaving the area after you become the prime suspect in [[spoiler:a murder, which you have to solve before you can get out.]]* {{Ojou}}: Lady Bow of Boo's Mansion.* OminousFloatingCastle: Bowser's Castle. Mario as a series loves these levels.* OneOfTheseDoorsIsNotLikeTheOther: Look closely at the scenery in Forever Forest to get hints for the correct path.* OneSteveLimit: Vanna T.'s Japanese name is Kinopiko, which is also Toadette's Japanese name.* PaletteSwap: There's a zillion of them in each game...* PaperFanOfDoom: Bow uses one in the Fan Smack. It can actually do the largest amount of damage to a single enemy, as well.* ParallelConflictSequence: The FinalBattle involves both a fight between Mario vs Bowser and Peach & Twink vs Kammy Koopa.* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: You can get yourself into a fight with some Bzzaps! (bee-like enemies) in Chapter 3, though they're Chapter 6 enemies. Thanks to the game's usage of AntiGrinding and the Bzzap's GlassCannon status, you can use them to reap plenty of experience.* PerkyFemaleMinion: Kammy may count; most moments starring her show that her personality is pretty upbeat for someone who gets verbally abused as often as she does.* ThePinIsMightierThanTheSword: Badges, as in the rest of the series.* PlayableEpilogue: Of the "explore after the final boss but load the game before it" variety. Which turns out to be nearly in [[BookEnds the same situation as the playable prologue]].* PlotTailoredToTheParty: Every chapter boss has a natural weakness to the partner you obtain in the chapter itself. Some are subtle (Lakilester, who has one of the best method to get rid of Huff n' Puff's pieces. Parakarry also has the best move to handle Tutankoopa) while others are more obvious (Bow, Watt, Sushie).* PointOfNoReturn: The final Peach stealth segment is the last chance to drop stuff into the magic chest for Mario before approaching [[spoiler:Kammy, who will expose Peach and end the segment]] (there's no stealth segment after releasing the final Star Spirit, just a cutscene).* PopQuiz: Chuck Quizmo can be found in random spots and will give you a question every time you talk. Successfully answering a question gets you a Star Piece, and he has 64 different questions.* PowerOfLove: The Star Spirits only grant good and selfless wishes, so when [[spoiler:Peach and the grand majority of the Mushroom Kingdom wishes for the Star Spirits to be powerful enough to defeat Bowser]], the RightMakesMight-o-meter goes UpToEleven, into full DeusExMachina territory. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Powered by love.]]* PowersAsPrograms: The Badge system works this way. Some badges contain special moves for Mario's hammer and jump, while others contain status buffs or immunities for Mario or his partners.* PreExistingEncounters: Nearly every fight in the game works this way. You can even get an early advantage (First Strike) by attacking an enemy in the field before the actual encounter begins (and so can the enemy).* PunnyName: The Toads of Toad Town all have names that end in "T." This creates several punny names describing them, such as Tayce T., the chef.* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: You're joined by a Mario fanboy, a wannabe archaeologist, a pink exploding tomboy, an absent-minded postman, a ghostly {{Ojou}}, a baby spark of electricity, a fussy nanny fish, and a cloud-riding punk with self-esteem issues.* RainbowSpeak: Almost every time a new location or character is mentioned, it's usually in red. In Shy Guy's Toy Box, the color of each station to travel to is colored in its respective color.* RandomEffectSpell: Mysteries, which can give you a surprising number of good things. They cost only 1 coin (3 in the sequel), so they're not a bad investment.* RecurringBoss: Jr. Troopa.* RecurringTraveller: Chuck Quizmo, Kolorado and the Castle Maids.* RedundantResearcher: Kolorado.* RememberedICouldFly: Bombette is first seen stuck in a jail cell. Once she joins the party, she demonstrates her abilities by blasting a hole in the damaged wall. She then sheepishly admits that the idea hadn't occurred to her before that point.* RhymesOnADime: Merlee always talks like this.* RiseToTheChallenge: The very last portion of Lavalava Volcano is the attempt to escape rising magma.* RockOfLimitlessWater: The Crystal Stone, needed as part of a FetchQuest in the Flower Fields.* TheRuntAtTheEnd: There are two times where a huge mob of Shy Guys run away from Mario and his partner in Shy Guy's Toy Box. Both times, one of them trips, then gets up and runs offscreen with the rest of the Shy Guys.* SayItWithHearts: And stars, and musical notes...* SceneryPorn: The cartoony, paper environments in all games are just amazing to look at. Especially in Star Way, where you can look back at the path you came from and see how awesome it is.* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: If a Magikoopa is the last enemy on screen, he'll always run away.* SecondPlaceIsForWinners: During one of the sections in which you control Peach, you take part in a game-show-like quiz. First prize is a rather helpful item (a Jammin' Jelly, which restores 50 FP) you can send to Mario, but the consolation prize for just participating is the Sneaky Parasol, necessary to complete the game (you need it for the next and last Peach segment).* SecretDiary: Bowser and [[spoiler:Luigi]] each have one.* SeeminglyHopelessBossFight: The final battle with Bowser. [[spoiler:Made winnable once the [[EleventhHourSuperPower Peach Beam]] becomes available.]]* SequentialBoss: General Guy. [[spoiler:You start with a Shy Guy mob, then two Stilt Guys, and then two Shy Stacks, then you get a crack at the General.]]* ShiftingSandLand: Dry Dry Desert, which is currently the [=TvTropes=] page image for the trope. It should be noted this desert had become a recurring location by this point in the franchise -- it first appeared as the eigth stage of ''Mario & Wario'', and again in ''Mario Kart 64'' under the name "Kalamari Desert" (the Dry Dry Railroad uses the Kalamari Desert theme).* ShoutOut:** Minh T.'s Japanese name is [[VideoGame/PanelDePon Lip]]. Both characters are associated with flowers.** In the same vein, [[Creator/ErnestHemingway Herringway]] the penguin novelist.** The Koopa Brothers are not merely a reference to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but also a reference to the original Gorenger. Most explicitly pointed out when using Tattle on Yellow, commenting that he reminds you of curry. There is a running joke in Super Sentai that yellow rangers love curry, because the original Kirenger's whole schtick (besides his large size) was that he was always eating curry.* ShowsDamage: Happens with a few bosses, such as Huff N. Puff.* ShrinkingViolet: One of the Dryites in Dry Dry Outpost is very much so this. Though well-informed, he says everything through his friend and shies away if Mario tries talking directly to him.* SiblingYinYang: Tayce T. from the first game and Zess T. from the second game are sisters, and near opposites in terms of personality.* SicEm: Tends to happen in the cutaway scenes between chapters.* SlippySlideyIceWorld: All of Chapter 7.* SmallNameBigEgo: Kolorado, to an extent; this type of character joining you in the fifth chapter is a recurring element in the series.* SmoochOfVictory:** When you return Goombaria's Princess Peach doll, she gives Mario one of these and a Star Piece.** The fifth Star Power, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Smooch]], has Misstar kiss Mario on the cheek to heal him for 20 HP.* SoundOfNoDamage: A soft "clink", like a small object falling into a tin cup, is heard when an enemy fails to damage Mario with an attack (or vice versa). It's always accompanied by a small yellow star graphic, instead of the large white star indicating damage.* SpiritualSequel: To ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG''.* SpritePolygonMix: Though technically they aren't sprites, they're flat 3D models. (This can be noticed whenever someone turns around.)* SquishyWizard: Magikoopas in Bowser's Castle have a lot of health, inflict a high amount of damage with their magic blasts, but have a defense rating of 0. [[spoiler:Kammy Koopa also counts.]]* StandardStatusEffects: Poison and Dizzy, as well as the beneficial Electrified, which shocks enemies who touch you, and Transparent, which makes you essentially invincible for a turn or two.* StarPower: The Star Spirits.* StarShapedCoupon: The Star Spirits, again.* StealthBasedMission: Every Peach section is 80% this. Tubba Blubba's Castle also requires a bit of sneaking around with your new Boo partner (which is also the only practical use for the Slow Go badge).* StealthPun: The Star Spirits revive Mario after he gets beaten up by Bowser. In other words, since he took a beating, he's seeing stars.* StoneWall: Several of the enemies later in the game that have high HP (but no defense) that deal relatively small damage such as Putrid Piranhas, Monty Moles from Flower Fields, Lakitus, Gulpits and Duplighosts. * StorybookOpening: Bowser hijacks the intro by [[NoFourthWall sellotaping]] Kammy onto the background.* SuperDrowningSkills: Despite being able to at least swim on the surface in most Mario platformers (and even swim underwater with a breath meter in some), Mario is not allowed to jump in pools of water in this game...until you get Sushie.* SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: There is a health-restoring block and a save point before each major boss.* SweetAndSourGrapes: Mario reclaims Kooper's shell by the time he decides to get it back himself.* SweetTooth:** [[spoiler:If you want to get the Power Plus badge the [[BonusBoss Anti Guy]] is guarding without fighting him, you can bribe him with a Lemon Candy.]]** To say nothing of Gourmet Guy's cake fetish...* TacticalRockPaperScissors: Your jump is a direct contact attack from above, and your hammer is a non-direct contact attack from the side. Spiky, electrified, and fiery enemies cannot be harmed by direct contact (such as your jump), but you can hit them with your hammer. Many attacks (such as your hammer) are ground-only, and can't hit aerial enemies. Almost all types of Koopa can be flipped on their backs with an attack from above, reducing their defense. Alternatively, one of your partners has a defense-piercing attack. These are only a few broad examples; most enemies have some kind of resistance or weakness to some type of attack.* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Played straight and lampshaded. Averted for Watt.* ThemeNaming:** Most of the Toads have {{Punny Name}}s that end in the letter "T" (Felissa T., Mihn T., etc).** Another theme throughout the entire series is having the wizards' names begin with "Merl" in homage to Merlin.** The few named Koopa characters all have names that start with "K".* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: During the YouCantThwartStageOne[=/=]FinalBossPreview battle at the very beginning of the game, Mario is reduced to two Heart Points, and Bowser decides to finish him off with an attack worth '''10 Attack Points'''! Since Mario only has 10 HP at the beginning of the game, Bowser could have taken Mario down in one hit, implying that he was [[JustToyingWithThem Just Toying With Him]].* ToyTime: Shy Guy's Toy Box.* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Lemons show up twice in the game as favorites. Sheek in Dry Dry Outpost considers them "the nicest of nice things," and [[spoiler:Anti Guy]] loves Lemon Candy. * UselessUsefulSpell: [[CursedWithAwesome The curses]] you can inflict on yourself in the game give random effects out on occasion, such as doubling your attack power/defense, your experience, or the money you earn from your victory. Unfortunately, said curses have a high tendency to activate when there's absolutely no need for them, such as stomping on the average Goomba, getting double Star Points when you only got one from the battle, and having your defense raised when the only enemy left is flipped on its back unable to do anything.* VariableMix:** In Toad Town, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXZvQTJ6ZRc there are different variations]] of the song based on areas you're near, like the Dojo.** There are five different variations of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eld5ZBNt4Rg the]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4xExap3LTY music]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq70tt4uyeo in]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-s-r0v6878 Bowser's]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ3o5u67a28 Castle]], and a different one plays depending on where you are in the castle.* VerbalTic: Fuzzies...'''MEEEOOORK!!!'''* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: Bowser's castle floating in space.* VictoryFakeeout: After you defeat Lava Piranha, you get your Star Points, the camera zooms in on Mario, and the victory jingle begins... and then the screen begins to rumble and Lava Piranha pops back out of the floor.* VideoGame3DLeap: While ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', of which PM is a SpiritualSequel, was technically already in 3D to begin with (using computer-rendered sprites and backgrounds a la ''Donkey Kong Country''), this game upgrades to fully three-dimensional geometries - well, except for the characters.* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:** Hitting the Whacka. Hit the Whacka eight times, and he disappears for good with the standard "enemy defeated" animation, though whether he simply flees or downright dies isn't stated.** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_zaCAHYBMk Poor Goomba.]]** When an enemy is impersonating one of your partners and you have to hit the one you think is "fake", you can "accidentally" attack your real partner.** If you don't use Watt in the room right before General Guy, Shy Guys will swarm you and slap Mario around. It doesn't cause damage, so this can go on forever if you let it.** Jr. Troopa remains on the map after most of the boss fights with him, and you can whack, jump on or bomb him to your heart's content until you leave the screen.* VoiceForTheVoiceless: Mario's various partners act as this for him.* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: Mario's partners will not continue the fight should he fall in battle, therefore, it's vital that Mario's HP is kept at healthy levels at all times.* WelcomeToCorneria: Subverted with the residents of the HubLevel, who will change their dialogue after each chapter (many having mini-stories of their own) but played straight with most of the other locations, where the residents typically only have pre-chapter, sometimes mid-chapter, and post-chapter dialogue that stays the same for the rest of the game. Some get post-game dialogue, as well.* WhatTheHellHero: After you defeat Lakilester in battle, his girlfriend, Lakilulu, will ask you politely to spare his life. If you answer "No" she will get angry, throw a Spiny at you, and ask you again.* WhereItAllBegan: The prologue, the finale, and the epilogue all take place in Peach's Castle.* TheWildWest: Mt. Rugged and Gusty Gulch look like areas out of a western film.* YouALLLookFamiliar: A favorite target of one of the game's frequent {{Lampshade Hanging}}s.* YouCantThwartStageOne: [[spoiler:No matter how badly you curbstomp Bowser in the first fight at the end of the game, he still escapes to the 2nd arena; you have no choice but to follow him and get trapped inside Kammy's device that negates the power of the Star Beam.]]* ZeroEffortBoss:** Tubba Blubba turns out to be pathetically weak once he's no longer invincible (the chapter's actual ClimaxBoss was instead his own heart, which you fight right beforehand).** Even more so is Monstar, whose ludicrously flashy attacks never do more than 1 damage. [[spoiler:The Star Kids sure know their magic pyrotechnics, at least.]]----